Chapter 656
Chapter Title: Party Leaders and a Call to Action
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On the evening the first day of classes came to a close.
In the central hall of the Clock Tower Dormitory, the Lumerne students were engrossed in conversation about the World of the Legion that had been announced today.
“It’s supposed to be way harder than the World of Heroes, but there are no rewards for clearing it.”
“I know! There’s a limit to how unfair things can be!”
“Those Tartaros bastards are seriously useless!”
Though some lighthearted complaints erupted here and there, they all knew the situation itself was serious.
Just as the entire student body was buzzing with the hottest topic of the day.
“Look over there.”
“Wow, does she plan on reading all those grimoires?”
“It’s the first day of the semester… A top student is really on another level.”
Gasps of admiration broke out among the first-years as they watched Iliana appear in the central hall after dinner.
The students from the Knight and Magic Departments, in particular, gazed at her with pure envy.
They had been completely fooled by Iliana’s act of being a model student.
“Austin. Why is Senior Iliana acting like that?”
Martina, the leader of Leo’s knight order, Slater, asked with a serious expression.
It went without saying, but unlike the first-years, the second-years knew Iliana’s true nature.
“I have no idea.”
Austin, who had been Iliana’s mentee during his first year, shook his head.
“She said she’s going to seduce Leo.”
Ella, who was passing by, let out a small sigh.
“What? Seduce Young Master Leo?”
Martina asked with a slightly bewildered look, and Ella explained.
“Yep. Leo has the Reward and Punishment Stamp this semester, right? She said she’s going to seduce him, get a ton of stamps, and become the MVP of the Dormitory Competition.”
“So that’s what it was.”
“Oh my?”
Startled by Leo, who had appeared from behind, Ella covered her mouth.
“I was wondering why she was putting on that model student act.”
“Iliana told me not to tell anyone.”
As Ella made a slightly troubled face, Celia, who was next to Leo, clicked her tongue.
“Whether you say it or not, there’s no way Leo would fall for such a pathetic trick.”
“That may be true, but Iliana herself is very motivated, saying she can do it.”
Nella gave a faint, bitter smile.
“A stamp, huh.”
Leo took the stamp out from his pocket.
Twirling the strap at the end of the stamp around his finger, Leo let out a soft laugh.
“An interesting idea just came to mind.”
Seeing Leo’s smiling face, Nella’s eyes widened.
“An interesting idea? What is it?”
“It just occurred to me. I’ll tell you when I flesh it out.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? So cheap.”
Nella grumbled slightly at his words.
In contrast, however, Celia and Martina’s faces turned pale.
‘What kind of vicious idea is he cooking up now?’
The smile on Leo’s face right now was the same one he wore when he trained them.
“Well, we can talk about that later. How was it? The meeting about forming parties?”
After their department schedules ended, the top third-year students, led by Leo, had held a meeting to form parties.
Large parties that integrated all three grades.
Naturally, the only ones qualified to be party leaders were the top students of each department among the third-years, the highest grade.
Of course, the nine students who had served as last year’s dorm leaders were the top candidates for party leader.
Other candidates mentioned were Karl, who had attained the rank of Hero, and Jureden, who was ranked third in the Summoning Department.
Naturally, no one raised any objections to that.
“Who did you decide on for the party leaders?”
There were six party slots in total.
And the selection of party leaders promised to be a difficult process.
‘Because no one would be willing to give up the position easily.’
As the top students of their departments, they were all more than qualified.
It was only natural that none of them would want to yield the position of party leader.
‘Maybe Chelsea and Xia would be willing to give it up?’
Nella muttered to herself.
Just then, the top third-years appeared in the central hall.
The first and second-years watched them with tense expressions.
The party members wouldn’t be decided today, but the party leaders would be.
Since a whole year’s grades could be determined by the party leader, the first and second-years couldn’t help but be on edge.
“Leo! Nella! What were you talking about?”
“We were asking Leo who the party leaders are.”
Nella replied with a smile to Chelsea, who had run over with light steps.
“Hehehe.”
Chelsea placed her hands firmly on her hips and puffed out her chest.
Celia’s face crumpled at the sight.
“Chelsea, don’t tell me…?”
“Yep! That’s right! One of the party leaders is me!”
“Wow!”
Nella let out a cry of admiration.
“It was Leo, me, Xia, Woreden, Jureden. And the last one was Karl! But…”
Chelsea licked her lips.
“He got dragged away by Senior Elena, who crashed the meeting.”
‘Huh? You’re going to be a party leader? Are you out of your mind? What about your student council duties? How can you be so irresponsible?’
‘But! Leo is a party leader too!’
‘Leo is the student council president, and you’re the vice president. In other words, a slave.’
‘Are you openly calling me a slave now?!’
Remembering Karl being dragged off to the student council room while screaming, Chelsea shook her head.
Karl, who had eagerly vied for the party leader position believing it would free him from Elena’s clutches, had met a tragic end.
“The last party leader ended up being my brother, Abad!”
Having said that, Chelsea cleared her throat—ahem!—and lifted her chin.
“In that regard, Celia. Go get me some water.”
“Hey! Are you trying to die?!”
As Celia’s eyes blazed, Chelsea scowled.
“Isn’t it natural for a subordinate to bring water when their captain is thirsty?”
“Who are you calling a subordinate! You damn brat!”
“You.”
“Leo! I told you to switch me to your party!”
Celia cried, grabbing Leo and shaking him wildly.
The students who heard the list of the six party leaders looked surprised.
“Wow! Jureden! How did you become a party leader?”
“It’s a miracle!”
“…Is it that miraculous?”
“Of course it is!”
Jureden wore a mournful expression at his friends’ reactions.
“Hold your head high, Jureden. As your fellow party member, I won’t tolerate our leader being intimidated.”
“Thanks, Eliza.”
“Hmm… If I eliminate him, maybe I can become the party leader.”
“What did you just say! Eliminate me! Hey! Hey! Eliza!”
Horrified, Jureden scrambled after Eliza, who had already strode away.
Watching them, the Summoning Department students clicked their tongues.
“He’s definitely just a figurehead leader over there.”
Amidst the growing commotion in the central hall, Luke approached Leo.
“Senior Leo, congratulations on becoming a party leader!”
Leo chuckled at Luke’s bright smile.
“It’s not really something to congratulate me for.”
“Right, for you, it must be a given.”
“By what criteria were the party leaders chosen?”
A rare look of interest and curiosity appeared on the expressionless face of Aina, who had come with Luke.
For Aina, too, the current selection of party leaders was a bit unexpected.
“It was incredibly fierce.”
Leo said with a smile, and Luke’s expression became excited.
“So you seniors must have dueled for the party leader positions! Senior Jureden is amazing too! To win in such a fierce competition!”
“We decided it fairly with rock-paper-scissors.”
“…”
“Everyone was playing like their lives depended on it. It was brutal. Though I think Jureden didn’t want to do it.”
“Then you should have let me out!”
Jureden whined at Leo’s words.
Leo grinned at him.
“Not a chance.”
***
Late at night.
The top floor of the Clock Tower.
As Leo slept with his eyes closed, a shadow crept up beside his bed.
“What are you doing?”
Leo opened his eyes and asked Mel, who was sitting by his bed looking down at his face, with a dumbfounded expression.
“I was admiring your sleeping face, Lord Leo.”
“You were just whining about how hard things are because of the World of the Legion, but you seem to have some free time now.”
“Free time? Of course not. I’m still swamped. I’m just getting a little healing in.”
Mel let out a deep sigh and tapped her shoulders with her fist.
“Oh, dear. My body aches. Maybe I should pass on my position as Lord.”
“You sound like an old hag.”
At his words, Mel’s eyes narrowed.
“You treat me like a mere child, yet you say such mean things.”
Shaking his head, Leo sat up.
“So, what brings you to my room in the dead of night?”
Leo walked over to the reception table and sofa that sat starkly in the middle of the spacious room and plopped down.
Melina, who sat down next to him, spoke.
“A request came in from Demian.”
“Demian?”
Leo paused, then tilted his head.
Demian, also a hero academy, resolved requests from all over the world, just like Lumerne.
Leo narrowed his eyes at the news that Demian, which was more than capable of handling most requests on its own, had sent a request to Lumerne.
“A request for support?”
“Yes. They said they need the power of Lumerne’s student council president, Leo Flove.”
“Anyone else?”
“From Azonia, Miss Ar was called.”
Hearing this, Leo stroked his chin.
“A reconnaissance mission, then.”
“How did you know?”
“If they requested support from me and Ar, it means they urgently need Hero-class powerhouses.”
Recently, the world’s Heroes have been strengthening their guard in preparation for Tartaros’s provocations.
As such, they cannot move easily.
The ones who are free in this situation are the students of the hero academies.
And at Seirun, there is also Lunia, a student who has reached the ranks of a Hero.
But the request for support did not go to Lunia.
“They could have easily called on Lunia from Seirun, but the fact that they specifically named me and Ar means they need people who can move quickly.”
Leo shrugged.
“In that case, there’s only one answer. A reconnaissance mission.”
“Wow, you truly are amazing, Lord Leo.”
Melina said with admiration, then her tone turned serious.
“On the eastern Yeonjae Continent, in a region bordering Tartaros, the frequency of monster appearances has risen sharply. The possibility of a Hero Dungeon appearing was high, so Demian dispatched an investigation team, but they lost contact.”
“Hmm.”
Leo’s expression turned grave.
“So it’s a support request to determine the whereabouts of the investigation team and confirm the appearance of a Hero Dungeon.”
“Yes.”
Leo nodded at Melina’s words.
“When do I need to be there?”
“You need to be at Demian by the day after tomorrow. Coincidentally, the Lumerne second-years are also heading to Demian for their Smith Contracts the day after tomorrow, so you could travel with them.”
Leo nodded at that.
“Alright. I’ll form a party by then.”
“Are you planning to form a party with students?”
“Yes. It’s a good opportunity for them to gain experience.”
Leo rested his chin on his hand.
“Should I pick the fast ones?”